Doctors Get Sick Too
by DarkandtwistyGirl
Summary: Meredith supports Alex through treatment after he is diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia . Set in early season five. *Complete*
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Not mine.

AN: My medical facts are just what I found on the internet. Enjoy.

* * *

**Seattle Grace, Tuesday morning**

"Meredith, you got a minute?" Alex pokes his head into a patient's room, and asks her. She nods to him, and follows him into an on call room. When they enter the room Alex locks the door behind them.

"What's going on Alex?" Alex sits down on the bed; Meredith quickly sits down as well.

"I need your help with something, something important."

"Sure, what is it?"

"I think there's something really wrong with me..." Alex is reluctant to continue, Meredith takes his hand in hers, and urges him on. "At first I thought I just had the flu, but it hasn't gone away, and yesterday my gums were bleeding. I'm probably being stupid, but would you mind just checking me out?"

"Of course I'll help you. Meredith gets up of the bed. "Take off your scrub top, and lie down." Alex does so, after making a couple of stupid jokes about Meredith and on call rooms.

Meredith does a thorough physical exam, and then reports to Alex. "Okay, lymph nodes and spleen are swollen, you have a low fever, and you're probably anemic. I'll draw some blood, do a full work up. Okay?"

"Yeah fine." Meredith leaves the room, and returns a minute later carrying blood test supplies. She places the tray onto the bed, and then takes the rubber tourniquet, and ties it around Alex's arm, just above his elbow. Then she picks up the needle, and pushes it into Alex's arm, causing him to wince slightly and complain, she ignores him, and quickly collects several vials of blood before withdrawing the needle, and placing a Band-Aid over the puncture site.

"You're going to keep this quiet, right?" Alex says as he pulls his scrub top back on.

"Of course, I'll let you know when the results come in." Meredith says before gathering up the various pieces of medical paraphernalia, and walking out of the room. Alex is so tired, he just sits there until his pager goes off.

**Seattle Grace pathology lab, Wednesday morning **

Meredith reads through the test results for the hundredth time, no matter how much she wishes that she just read it wrong she knows that they are consistent with leukemia. _How the hell do I tell Alex? Is he going to die? He wants me to keep this quiet?_

Just then Alex spots her, and walks over. "Are those mine?"

"Yes." Her expression tells him everything. "I'm sorry."

Alex collapses into the chair beside her, and buries his head in his hands. "So what is it? Leukemia or lymphoma?"

"Acute lymphoblastic leukemia." Meredith wraps her arm around him, and to her surprise he didn't resist her attempt to comfort him. "It's going to be alright Alex; you're going to get through this." Meredith comforts him. He calms down after about ten minutes.

"What am I going to do?" He asks her softly, looking directly into her eyes.

"You need to see an oncologist, and we should tell Bailey."

"We're not telling anyone here, please Mere." He stops, and thinks for a moment. "A mate of mine's an oncologist over at Mercy West, his name's Sam Payton. I'll give him a call, make an appointment."

"Okay, um, do you want me to come to the appointment with you?" After a few weak attempts at resisting he caves.

"Please."

**Outside surgery, Wednesday afternoon**

Alex has been assisting Sloan in surgery for almost five hours, normally this wouldn't bother him at all, but he was so worn out today. He went into the locker room, and lay down on one of the benches for awhile before going over to his locker, and taking out his phone. He called Dr Payton; they had met at a conference last year, and had kept in touch.

"Hello, Dr Payton speaking." The man answered professionally.

"Hey Sam, its Alex Karev..." He pauses for a moment "...I need to make an appointment to see you."

"What's going on Alex?"

"I haven't been well lately, so I got one of my friends to do a blood test, and..." He can't bring himself to say it.

"And what did it show? I'm guessing cancer; otherwise you wouldn't be calling me, what type?"

"Leukemia." Alex almost whispers.

"Oh, I can squeeze you in first thing tomorrow, does that work?"

"Yes, thanks."

"Seven thirty, and remember to bring along the test results."

"Thanks man."

"See you then." Alex hangs up the phone; he has another twelve hour left in his shift. All he wants to do is go find a bed, and hide there until he can go home, but his pager has already gone off four times while he was on the phone, it was going to be one of those days. Though the rest of the day Meredith checked up on him about fifty times, and cover for him quite a bit too. He had told her when his appointment was, and she had promised to be there, they could go together before work.

**Meredith's house, Thursday morning**

As Alex wakes up the early the next morning he can feel blood flowing from his nose. _Oh crap, this is bad. _He grabs a tissue, and blocks the blood flow, several minutes later it finally eases up, and he goes into his bathroom to clean off the blood. As he looks in the mirror the sight before him is shocking, between the caked blood, deathly pale skin, and obvious weight loss. He turns away, and takes a shower before heading downstairs; the hot water has only slightly eased the excruciating pain in his joints.

Meredith and Izzie are already sitting in the kitchen eating waffles, Izzie offers Alex a plate, which he quickly declines, he doesn't feel like eating.

"But you have to eat breakfast, come on Alex sit down and eat." Izzie says, pushing the plate at Alex.

"Meredith, you almost ready? We'd better get going." Alex says to Meredith, ignoring Izzie's attempts to make him eat.

"Five minutes." Meredith tells Alex, she then gets up from the table, puts her plate in the sink, and goes to find her coat. Leaving Izzie and Alex in the kitchen together.

"Where are you and Meredith going? Your shifts don't start until nine am."

"None of your damn business Iz. Let it go." Alex almost yells at her, the last thing he needs right now is for her to be bugging him.

"Sorry. See you at work." Izzie says as she fights back tears, why does he have to be such a jerk?

Alex walks out to the car to wait for Meredith. As he leans against the car waiting his knees, ankles, and hips feel like they are on fire, he knows that joint pain is part of the disease, and he wonders how he is going to stand up through a surgery when he can barely walk out to the car.

After a couple more painful minutes of standing there Meredith walks over, and unlocks the car. "Sorry, the phone rang." They both climb into the car, Meredith notices how much pain Alex is in, and decides to be one driving.

**Consultant rooms, Mercy West, 7:30am**

Dr Payton is waiting in the outer office for them when they arrive. "Morning Alex." He greets Alex, and quickly shakes his hand. "And you are?" He says, referring not unkindly to Meredith.

"Hi, Dr Meredith Grey, I work with Alex." She replies. They then all walk into Dr Payton's office, exchanging polite conversation as they go.

When they enter the room Dr Payton pulls the door shut behind them. He sits down behind the large desk at the back of the room, and motions for Alex and Meredith to sit on the other side of the desk, in the substantially less comfortable plastic chairs, causing Alex considerable discomfort. Meredith fishes through her tote bag to find the test results, and then hands them to Dr Payton.

"These are from a few days ago." He spends a few minutes reading thorough them before looking back up at Alex.

"Why did you take so long to seek treatment?"

"I've been busy, and it just felt like the flu."

"Okay. Well these results quite conclusively show ALL. What symptoms are you having?"

"Fatigue, joint pain, nose bleeds, bleeding gums, and breathlessness."

"Yeah, that's pretty consistent. I'll just do a quick physical exam, come over to the bed." Alex lies down obediently, and Dr Payton proceeds to listen to his chest, feel his lymph nodes and abdomen, manipulate several of the already painful joints, and a number of other tests before allowing Alex to sit up, and put his shirt back on. They then walk back over to the desk and sit down.

"I'm going to arrange for you to be admitted immediately, and schedule a bone marrow aspirate and biopsy and a spinal tap to confirm the diagnosis."

"But I've got a double shift today, I can't..."

"You've already delayed this too long, the sooner we can get the tests done the sooner you can start treatment, and the quickest way to get tests done is as an inpatient." Dr Payton turns to his computer, and starts typing. "I'll show you to admissions, alright?"

"Thanks." Meredith says before Alex has a chance to argue again.

"Do you want I can call your chief, inform him of the situation."

"No way, no one over there can find out."

"Alex." _How long does he think he can keep this up?_

"Mere, please."

"Fine, I'll sort something out."

**Alex's room, 10am**

Alex is lying on the bed, dressed in scrub pants and a hospital gown. Dr Payton had wasted no time in putting him on oxygen, monitors, and IV fluids and morphine, which Alex was extremely grateful for by the time they reached the room. Meredith is sitting on the side of the bed, flipping through a magazine she found.

"You'd better get to work before we're both out of a job." Alex says, only half joking. "Seriously, you don't need to stay in here." He'd been going to doctors alone since he was eight; his parents were always to drunk or stoned to take him.

Meredith moves closer to him. "I'm not going to leave you here. This is not something that you should go through alone. I called in for both of us."

"Um, thanks." It's kind of good having her there, talking to people, and helping him.

"No problem Alex, why don't you try and rest while I go home and get some things for you."

**Alex's room, 11am**

Dr Payton enters the room, followed by a nurse pushing a cart. "Alex, Meredith. Are you ready to get started?"

Alex shrugs "I guess so."

"Alright then, we'll do the biopsy first. Meredith if you want to say you'll-"

"I know the drill, where are the gowns kept?" She interrupts him. He points at a cupboard near the door, she puts on a gown, booties, and hair cap.

She goes back over to Alex, who is now lying on his stomach, with a sterile drape across his lower back, the hole in it positioned over his right hip. "How are you going?" She asks him as she takes a seat on the stool next to Alex, and moves her hands hold his.

"Nervous." He admits, looking ashamed.

"That's okay, you have every right to be, you're going to have a painful procedure. Just try to think about something else." She says, reverting to doctor mode.

"Bull. Don't you dare start treating me like some random patient Mere."

"Sorry." They are sitting in silence until Dr Payton starts the procedure. When he is starts to push in the aspirate needle in Alex tenses, and bits his lip to avoid crying out. "Alex, just breathe. Squeeze my hands if it helps...I can take it." He quickly responds by tightly gripping her hands. He continues to do this until Dr Payton finally withdraws the needle, places a small dressing over the site, and helps Alex roll back onto his back, effectively putting pressure on the site.

"I'll be back in a while to do the tap, just relax for awhile." He briskly walks from the room.

"This is crazy." Alex exclaims randomly.

"What?"

"I thought I had the flu, if I was the doctor in this situation I would think the patient was an idiot, but here I am." Meredith smiles at him apologetically.

"Yeah, but at least you are getting treatment now."

Dr Payton comes back into the room about twenty minutes later, carrying a procedure tray, which he places on a stand, and pulls over to the bed. "Meredith, all the nurses are busy, can you assist?"

She looks at Alex, seeking his approval before responding. "Sure, what do you need me to do?"

Dr Payton has Alex roll onto his side, pull his legs towards his chest, and put his chin to his chest. "Just help him keep still." Meredith responds by moving her left hand up behind Alex's head, and her right around his legs. Alex can't help but make a few dumb comments, trying to lighten the mood.

"Little sting now." Dr Payton warns Alex as he injects the local anesthetic. A minute later he picks up the second needle. He looks at Meredith, indicating to her to tighten her grip on him. "You're going to feel some pressure now, just stay still." He inserts the needle into Alex's back, and quickly collects a couple of vials of fluid before pulling the needle out, and putting a dressing over the site. "All done, remember to stay lying down for an hour or so; We should have the results by tomorrow afternoon."

**Meredith's house, almost midnight**

"Hey Mere, where'd you and Alex disappear to today?"

"Alex had a family emergency; I drove him to the airport, then my car wouldn't start, you know how it goes."

"What happened?" _Damn, I should have known Izzie would want details._

"He didn't go into specifics, if you don't mind I'm going to bed, it's been a long day." _I can't believe how easy that was._

**Seattle Grace, Friday evening**

"Thanks for letting me scrub in Dr Sloan, it was an amazing surgery."

"No problem Grey, I was going to have Karev assist, but he seems to have gone AWOL."

Their conversation is interrupted by the sound of Meredith's phone, after checking the caller id she answers. "Hello Sam, the results are in?" Meredith jumps straight to the point, stepping away from everyone so she isn't overheard.

"_Yes, as we expected, acute lymphoblastic leukemia. I've already spoken to Alex, and we're going to start him on chemotherapy and radiotherapy tomorrow morning."_

"Okay, what regimen are you planning?" _If I'm going to be involved in this I might as well know what's what._

"_Probably eight cycles of Hyper-CVAD chemo, and four weeks of radiotherapy."_

"Alright, thanks for the call. Can you let him know that I'll try to be there tomorrow?"

"_No problem. See you around."_

At that moment Meredith realises that Bailey is standing right beside her. "What's going on Grey?"

"It's nothing, really."

"Alright, but you look pretty upset about a 'nothing' that involves regimens and a man."

"Fine, there is something, but I promised him I wouldn't tell anyone."

Bailey's pager goes off. "I've got to go, but don't think I won't find out eventually Dr Grey."

**TBC.**

Please let me know what you think?

BTW I haven't decided how this is going to end, so when you review let me know if you want him to live, or not.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Not mine.

AN: My medical facts are just what I found on the internet and in medical textbooks. Enjoy.

* * *

**Alex's room, Mercy West, Saturday morning**

Dr Payton enters the room about five minutes after Meredith, who had more or less run there after finishing a night shift. "Morning Alex."

"Morning Sam." Alex replies.

"How's that line feel, not causing you any pain?" Dr Payton had put in a central line into Alex's chest yesterday so he could avoid the constant needle sticks.

"It's fine." Taking a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. "Time to start?" Alex enquired, failing in his attempt not to betray his nerves.

"Yeah, we'll be starting with the cyclophosphamide infusion and dexamethasone tablets, alright?"

"Guess so."

Alex's nurse Kate walks in wheeling an IV infusion pump to his bed side, and carrying a paper cup holding several pills, which she puts down on the table.

Kate moves to the head of the bed, takes the clamp off one of the lines, and connects the tubing from the IV bag. "That'll take two hours to run in." She hands Alex the pills. "These are the dexamethasone, and oxycontin tablets. Here's water to swallow them with." Kate hands Alex a plastic cup, he quickly swallows the pills.

"I'll come and check on you in a couple of hours." Dr Payton tells Alex, he then strides out of the room.

"So, if you work over at Seattle Grace, why come here?" Kate enquires as she adjusts his blankets.

"No one over there knows." He replies.

"Isn't it going to be hard to hide? Won't your friends notice that you're not there?"

"Meredith told them I had to go back home for a family emergency."

"Okay. I need to go check on my other patients now, but if you need anything just press the call button." Kate leaves the room. Meredith sits down on the side of the bed, they just sit there talking for a while before Alex suddenly starts to feel nautious. Instintively Meredith grabs an emesis basin from the table, and thrusts it in front of Alex just before he starts retching violently. Meredith gently rubs his back, trying to ease his pain.

Meredith pushes the call button, and a minute later Kate walks into the room. "How are you doing?" She asks Alex.

"He's really nauseated, did Dr Payton write for an anti-emetic?" Meredith asks.

"Yes, I'll go get it." Before leaving she swaps the used basin for a clean one. Meredith holds Alex as another wave of nausea hits him, eventually Kate comes back in carrying a needle. She quickly pushes the needle into his central line, and injects the contents.

"That should help pretty soon."

"What was it?" Meredith asks.

"Maxolon. We'll add it in tablet form to his next dose of meds." Kate then brings over a facewasher, which Meredith takes, and gently wipes Alex's forehead, continuing to move her hand in soothing circles on his back. The maxolon barely does anything for the nausea, but they both know that it works better to prevent nausea, than to stop it.

**

* * *

**

Mercy West,

**Several hours later **

Alex is feeling like hell, the nausea is still pretty bad, despite the meds.

"I'm just about to takes him down for the first radiotherapy session." Kate informs meredith.

"Okay." She turns to Alex. "Alex, I've got to go to work for a few hours, but I'll be back later. Is there anything I can get you?" Alex simply shakes his head, fearing that opening his mouth for any length of time will trigger the vomitting to start again.

**

* * *

**

Mercy West,

**6pm Saturday**

Meredith is sitting quietly beside Alex's bed, thankfully the nausea settled down overnight, and stayed that way until a meal tray is brought into his room. Within seconds the nausea restarts, even worse than before. Meredith motions to the volunteer carrying the tray to leave, and calls for a nurse. "It's okay Alex, I'm right here."

Kate walks in. "Nausea's back?"

"He was doing alright until someone brought in a meal tray, started it off again. Can he have another maxolon shot?"

"Not yet." She looks Alex in the eye, and soothingly says "Alex, I want you to try something with me. Can you do that?" He nods so slightly Kate and Meredith barely see it. "Okay then. Take a deep breathe in, and hold it, now slowly breathe out. I know it's hard when you're feeling like this, but it can help." Alex follows Kate's instructions, at first he struggles, but after a few minutes he starts feeling better. "Okay, just keep doing that. I'll be back to check on you in a few minutes." Kate walks away.

Meredith picks up the facewasher, and gently wipes the sweat and tears off his face. She then wraps her arms around Alex, and holds him as he fights off the nausea.

**

* * *

**

Mercy West, 8pm

** Saturday**

Kate comes back in with the next infusion, and quickly attaches it to his central line. As she turns to leave Meredith stops her. "Kate, I need to get home, I'm supposed to start work at four am tomorrow, so I need some sleep. Can you keep an eye on him for me?"

"Of course, when will you be back?"

"I get off work around seven pm, I'll come by on my way home." Before getting off the bed she turns to Alex. "Are you okay if I go home?"

"Yeah, sure thanks for being here today." Alex says weakly before his body is once again seized by violent retching, Kate moves to his side, and takes over from Meredith, who slips from the room.

**

* * *

**

Alex's room, Sunday morning

When Alex wakes up the next morning, he slowly sits up, avoiding doing anything to start the nausea up again. The maxolon finally started to help last night, until then he had been doubled over dry retching for hours. A few minutes later Kate walks in with a meal tray, she has taken off everything except some plain toast, apple slices, and fruit juice. "Good morning Alex, here's some breakfast for you. Are you feeling up to it?" Alex nods slowly, Kate puts the tray on his table, and pulls it closer to him. He picks up a slice of toast, and cautiously takes a few bites. "How's that?" Kate enquires.

"Alright. What time am I having treatment today?"

"Same as yesterday, cyclophosphamide infusion at eight am and eight pm, dexamethasone tablets at eight am, maxolon tablets at four hour intervals, and oxycontin tablets also at four hour intervals. And radiotherapy at three pm."

"Sounds like fun." Alex says sarcastically.

"I'll be back with your meds in half an hour."

**

* * *

**

Alex's room, 8pm Sunday

Meredith gets to Alex's room just as Kate is connecting the infusion pump to his central line. He is dozing restlessly, he's pale, and sickly thin. "Evening Alex." She says softly as she gives him a gentle hug before sitting down on the side of the bed. "Kate, how's he doing today?"

"Better than yesterday, he managed to keep down some toast and apple is morning, and some dry crackers and cheese for lunch."

Alex rolls over, and looks at her. Softly stroking his hair she speaks to him. "Sorry I disappeared yesterday, I was so tired. Is there anything you need?"

"Other than to beat this?" He says jokingly. "I could always use more med journals, maybe my Ipod, stuff like that. I don't know how patients do this everyday, the high points are when a trainee nurse wakes you up at one am for no good reason." Meredith laughs slightly when he says this, and she pulls several magazines from her bag.

"How'd I guess you'd want these?"

"Thanks Mere." The nausea hits several minutes later despite the anti-emetics. Meredith sits with him, rubbing his back, and comforting him until he eventually fell asleep an hour later. She goes out to the nurses' station where Kate is sitting eating her dinner alone.

"Kate, he's asleep, I'm heading home, I can't come in tomorrow. With him off work I've picked up a lot of extra shifts, you know how it is. Tell him I'll call him tomorrow, and come see him the day after."

"Will do, night Meredith."

"Night Kate."

Over the next few days Alex continues to receive treatments, and Meredith comes in as often as possible. On Thursday morning Dr Payton comes into his room, just as Meredith is helping him change into street clothes. "Evening Alex. Keen to get out of here?"

"Definitely. Can I go now?"

"Yeah, but first we just need to go over the plan, on Monday you'll need to go to the outpatient department to get the next dose of vincristine, and pick up the dexamethasone tablets for you to take for four days, then you have a week off before you'll be admitted again to start the second cycle. Don't forget to take the maxolon, and oxycontin, even if you're feeling good. I'll see you on Monday, okay?"

"See you on Thursday." Alex says as he gets into the wheelchair that Kate brought into the room for him. Meredith picks up his bag, and follows Alex and Kate from the room. When they get outside Meredith brings her car to the front entrance, so that Alex won't have to walk so far. She helps Alex get in, and quickly thanks Kate before climbing back into the car, and driving away.

"Mere, is anyone going to be home?" Alex runs his hand through his already thinning hair.

"Not till tonight."

"Good."

"You know as soon as they see you they'll know, right?"

"Yeah, I know. I'll tell them tonight." They remain mostly silent for the rest of the drive, when they get home Meredith helps Alex up to his room, and leaves him to get some rest.

**

* * *

**TBC.

Please let me know what you think.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Grey's Anatomy.

AN: Sorry for the wait, and the short chapter. I just couldn't think of what to write.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Meredith's house, 7pm ****Thursday**

"Mere, we're home. What do you want me to make for-" Izzie pauses mid-sentence when she sees Alex lying on a couch in the living room, leaning over the edge, dry retching into a bin. "Oh god!" She gasps, hurrying over to him. When she kneels beside him, and sees how truly sick he looks she goes into panic mode. "What's wrong Alex?!"

The noise causes Meredith to rush in, after quickly scanning the room she moves over to Alex and Izzie, leaving George standing in the doorway. "Izzie, you and George should just go into the kitchen, I'll be in in a minute." Even though they make no indication of leaving Meredith turns her attention to Alex, she picks up a pill bottle from the side table, and takes two out for Alex. "You think you can keep down your pills?" Alex nods slightly, uncertainly. "Okay then, take this." He quickly swallows the preoffered tablet and a glass of water. "I told you you'd need it." She runs her hand through his thin sweat drenched hair. "Just relax alright, the meds will take effect soon. I'll be in the kitchen, if you need me just call out." After hearing Alex's mumbled reply Meredith leads Izzie and George from the room.

"What the hell Mere?!" Izzie yells, more than a little freaked by the turn of events.

"Sit down." They all sit around the kitchen table. "First off, he didn't want you to find out like this."

"Find out what?" Izzie asks quietly, almost afraid of the answer.

"He just got out of hospital this morning, he's been having his first round of chemo-radiotherapy, as you just saw it's been rough on him."

"He's got cancer?" George questions, finally finds his voice.

"ALL." Meredith confirms sadly.

George looks back towards the living room before replying. "How long's he been sick?"

"The diagnoses was confirmed a week ago, he'd been sick for a couple of months."

"How come he told you, and not us?" Izzie asks, sounding slightly offended.

"He came to me a couple of weeks ago to run some tests, and it just went from there."

"What treatment regimen is he on?" Izzie enquires, her concern winning out over anything else.

"Hyper CVAD combined with radiotherapy."

"That's pretty intensive, what's his prognosis?" George asks, going over to the fridge, and grabbing them each a beer while he does.

"Sam, his oncologist is optimistic that the treatment will put it into remission, hopefully then it won't recur."

They sit mostly in silence until Alex walks in, Meredith quickly stands up, and helps him over to a chair. "Feeling better?" She asks gently.

"Yeah, now I feel like I got hit by one truck, not fifty."

"You think you can keep down a soda, or something?"

"Probably." Alex replies, prompting Meredith to grab him a can of lemonade.

"Thanks." He accepts the soda with one hand, and runs his other through his thinning hair. "So, are you two just gonna sit there staring all night, or what?"

"Sorry, it's just... You know... Sorry." George mumbles awkwardly.

"You should have told us Alex." Izzie says, no real harshness in her words, just concern.

**

* * *

**

Meredith's house, 5 am Friday

After George and Izzie have left for work Meredith walks into Alex's bedroom as she's about to leave for work. "Are you sure you'll be alright here by yourself?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. If there's a problem I'll page you." Meredith still hesitates. "Go, you're going to be late."

"See you later. If you need anything at all-"

"I'll page you. Go."

"I'll be home in time to take you for radiation, okay?"

"Can't wait." Alex responds sarcastically.

**

* * *

**

Seattle Grace, 5.30 am Friday

Bailey walks into the residents locker room, looking tired and irritated. "Yang, Stevens, Grey, as Karev still doesn't feel so inclined to join us you'll each have to take one of his interns, and because I can, Yang you get two."

After Bailey leaves the room Izzie speaks almost instantly. "She doesn't know?!"

Christina looks at the like they've gone mad. "What are you two on about now?"

"Alex has ALL, he's spent the week over at Mercy West, getting radiation and chemo." Meredith informs her.

"You're kidding, right?"

"I wish."

"So now we have to deal with his interns as well as ours, great, for how long?" Christina asks, annoyed at the prospect of having two extra interns to keep track of.

Meredith chooses to ignore Christina's insensitive nature, and answers. "He'll be in and out of hospital for treatment for at least a couple of months, and after that he'll probably still need time to recuperate."

Meanwhile Bailey realises she has left something in her locker, and is about to walk back into the locker room when she hears parts of a conversation between her former interns 'Alex, ALL, Mercy West, radiation and chemo'. _What on earth? _Determined to find out the truth she marches into the locker room. "Which one of you is going to tell me what's going on? Cos' you know I'll find out sooner or later anyway." Meredith, who's back is mostly turned to Bailey stares at her friends, clearly telling them to stay quiet. "Fine then, new method. Whoever tells me will be assigned to the service of their choice for a week."

Surely enough a second later Christina speaks. "Evil spawn has leukemia."

Bailey looks at her, confused and worried. Meredith gives up, and walks over to her boss. "Alex was admitted to Mercy West last week for his first round of chemotherapy to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia."

"What?!" Bailey questions, stunned to actually hear confirmation of her suspicions.

"You probably shouldn't expect him back for at least a couple of months, depending on how things go."

Still in shock Bailey turns to leave. "Wait! What about your offer? I told you, so-"

"One of your friends has a form of cancer, and you're thinking about how telling me will help you?" Bailey asks Christina incredulously.

* * *

TBC.

Do you like it? Please review, and let me know what you think.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Grey's Anatomy, or the characters, and probably never will.**

**AN: I have no medical knowledge, just way too much time to search the internet.**

**Sorry I had to put this one on hold for a while, life got crazy, believe me I would have much rather been writing! **

**Thank you so much for all your wonderful reviews, I truly value each and ever one, so please keep them coming. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

That evening when Meredith and the others get home Meredith quickly goes up to Alex's room. When she reaches his door she knocks lightly, and upon hearing a mumbled response she turns the handle, and pushes the door open.

Alex is sitting up in bed, flicking through the latest pile of magazines Meredith left on his bedside table for him. "Hey." He greets Meredith tiredly.

"Hey Alex, how're you going?" Meredith asks as she walks over to the bed, and sits down on the edge.

"Same, how was work? Anything interesting happen?"

Meredith had chosen not to tell him that she had ended up telling Christina and Bailey about him when she took him to his appointment earlier that afternoon, and even though she had told herself that she would tell him tonight, somehow she is having trouble bringing herself to say it. After a moment she decides just to bite the bullet, and get it over with. "Bailey knows."

"What?" Alex asks, clearly barely awake.

"Bailey knows... about you."

"What?!" Alex half yells, his voice not coming out nearly as strongly as he would have liked.

"I'm sorry Alex, she heard us talking, I didn't have a choice." _After Christina opened her big surgery loving mouth._

Alex punches his bed in frustration. "Damn."

Meredith gently wraps one of her hands around his fist, and cups the other around his face, forcing him to look her directly in the eye. "It'll be alright, I'll sort everything out, okay?"

Alex nods slightly, and allows Meredith to pull him into a warm embrace.

* * *

The next morning Meredith arrives early, and quickly seeks out Bailey, she finds her in the locker room getting ready for her shift. "Excuse me Dr Bailey, do you have a minute?"

Bailey turns around to face Meredith. "Depends what you want to do with that minute."

"Um..."

"What do you want Grey?" Bailey asks, sounding annoyed.

"I want to talk to you about Alex... he asked me to explain things to you."

"Okay, explain." Bailey instructs as she turns back to her locker, and continues getting ready.

Taking a deep breath, Meredith begins. "A few weeks ago Alex came to me, he asked me to run some tests. The results showed ALL, I've been helping him through his treatment ever since."

"I guessed that much, what are you trying to explain?"

"I tried to get him to tell you, but he practically begged me to keep quiet. This has been rough on him, Alex didn't want anyone to see him in his current condition, or to know about it."

After a moment Bailey replies in a gentler voice. "It's alright Grey, I get it. ...Tell him to get better, and get back to work ASAP."

* * *

Over the next few months they all continue on as normally as possible, until early one Saturday morning when Meredith walks into Alex's room to check on him before she leaves for work. She got home late last night, and in her exhausted state she forgot to check on him.

It's still dark so she flicks the light switch as she moves through the doorway, and the sight before her as light fills the room is nothing less than shocking.

Alex is lying on the bed, curled into a foetal position on his side, shivering violently, himself and the sheets soaked in sweat and other substances that Meredith chooses not identify.

"Alex... Alex!" Meredith cries out before running over to the bed, shakily checking his vital signs, and trying frantically to get him to wake up.

Her cry brings Izzie and George running, both stop at in the doorway, stunned. Meredith briefly turns around. "George, call 911. Izzie come help me."

George hurries back out into the hallway, while Izzie moves hesitantly over to Alex's side. "What's going on Mere?"

"Infection, I think. He's got a high fever, rapid shallow resps, weak thready pulse, and signs of severe dehydration."

"Oh god." Izzie whispers, fighting not to break down.

* * *

Ten minutes later George shows two paramedics into Alex's room, by this time Meredith and Izzie have stripped the bedsheets and his clothes, and with great difficulty dressed him in clean clothes, after having agreed that they should't let anyone else see him lying in his own filth, and then placed several ice packs at strategic points on Alex's weakened body.

At the paramedics request Izzie steps out of the way, joining George in the doorway, Meredith however refuses to move, quickly explaining. "I'm Dr Grey, fourth year resident over at Seattle Grace. I've been with Alex throughout his treatment, I know his plan as well as his doctors."

"Alright, talk."

* * *

Bailey is supervising an intern who's doing sutures when she sees Meredith stepping out of an ambulance, helping the paramedics unload a gurney. She quickly turns to the intern. "Finish up here, then head upstairs and work on your charts."

By the time the intern turns to where Bailey was standing, she sees that Bailey has already moved away.

One of the paramedics is half way through handing Alex over to a male ER resident when Bailey rushes over. "Grey, what's..." Bailey looks to the prone form on the gurney. "Alex?!"

"I found him unresponsive in his bed this morning, he could have been like that for hours. Looks like a severe infection." Meredith tells Bailey, practically drowning in guilt.

Bailey motions to the paramedics, and the ER resident to take Alex into an available room, whilst she talks to Meredith. "I thought he was doing well. What the hell happened Grey?!"

"He was doing well Dr Bailey, he was fine when I checked on him before work yesterday-"

Bailey interrupts. "What do you mean yesterday?!"

"I was tired last night... I forgot." Meredith admits as she mentally berates herself.

Just as Bailey is about to start yelling at Meredith, they hear a shout from within the treatment room where Alex is that shocks them to the core.

"We've lost his pulse!"

* * *

**TBC...**

**Just a little cliffhanger for y'all! lol**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Please review! **

**If there's no reviews, here's a preview of the next chapter "time of death six o' five. THE END". (Kidding! But seriously I posted a chapter on 'Broken Heart' a couple of days ago, and only got ONE review!)**

**Also, let me know if there's something you want to see happen, I try to work all suggestions into my stories.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Grey's Anatomy, or the characters, and probably never will.**

**AN: I have no medical knowledge, just way too much time to search the internet.**

**Sorry to leave you hanging for so long, couldn't work out how to word this. Hope it turned out alright. **

**Thank you so much for all your wonderful reviews, I truly value each and ever one, so please keep them coming. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Previously: "We've lost his pulse!"

* * *

Without hesitation Bailey and Meredith run into the treatment room. When they finally get through the sea of people, they see Alex lying prone on the gurney, with the resident, Dr Hill holding a laryingascope in his mouth while he threads in an endotrachial tube. At the same time an orderly is preforming chest compressions, and there are nurses everywhere working busily.

"What happened?!" Bailey shouts at Dr Hill, not taking her eyes away from her fallen coworker.

Dr Hill finishes inserting the tube, secures it, attaches an ambu bag, and hands it over to a nurse before answering. "We'd only just transferred him, and he coded."

"What caused this?" Bailey questions, moving to assist.

"Not sure, probably multiple organ failure, brought on by a severe infection."

Bailey curses under her breath, she then notices Meredith freaking out beside her, and turns to her. "Go outside, now!"

"What?!"

"You're too close to him, wait outside." Bailey insists, wrapping her arm around Meredith, and quickly guiding her through the doorway, and closing the door behind her.

* * *

Meredith hears the door slam closed behind her as she is forced out of the room. She goes straight to the window, and watches as they all work in well practiced perfection to save Alex's life.

As she watches Bailey press the defibrillator paddles onto Alex's now exposed chest, all she can think is. _This is all my fault! He trusted me to look after him, how could I have forgotten to check on him?! I'm a doctor, I know what can happen to people going though chemo, and I still put my need for sleep over his well-being. If I had've just checked on him last night this never would've happened, he'd have come in here of his own choice, and been treated before it got even close to being this bad. How could I forget?! What if my stupid stuff up costs him his life?! Oh god, what if he dies?_

* * *

Meredith continues her guilt-ridden chain of thought until George and Izzie run up to her a minute later. By this point, Meredith is sobbing uncontrollably, and Izzie grabs her shoulders, and pulls her around to face her. "Mere? What's going on?! Talk to me."

Her voice hoarse from crying, Meredith answers brokenly. "H-he... Organ fail-failure... They're doing CPR."

Izzie and George turn their attention from Meredith, to the treatment room. In an unfortunate coincidence, the second they look through the window is the second Bailey delivers a third shock to Alex's failing body. "Oh god." Izzie gasps, and turns away.

George pulls Izzie closer, and lets her bury her face in his shoulder, whilst trying to avoid looking back into the room himself. "It's okay, Alex is strong, he'll be alright." He soothes Izzie, holding her tight. He then looks over to Meredith, she is once again sobbing, almost inaudibly murmuring 'I'm sorry, I'm so sorry' over and over again. "Mere?"

Hearing George call to her, Meredith moves closer to him, and gratefully leans into a comforting hug.

* * *

Meanwhile in the treatment room, Bailey shocks Alex again, and upon looking up at the monitors, she says. "He's back in sinus rhythm, good work everyone. Now, let's get him stabilized, that was way too close." She turns to a nurse. "Jamie, call RT for a vent, then nephrology, he'll probably need dialysis, and then bed management, he'll need to go up to the ICU."

"Yes, doctor." Jamie replies quickly, then picking up the phone, and dialing.

"I'd better go talk to Grey. Can you manage here?"

"Sure." Dr Hill replies as he watches Bailey hurry from the room.

* * *

Bailey is surprised when she sees George standing be the observation window, Meredith still pressed against one shoulder, and Izzie again the other, both are crying, and George doesn't look too far from joining them.

"Grey, Stevens, O'Malley." Bailey says, announcing her presence.

They all jump apart, and turn to face her. "How is he?"

"...Stable. The majority of his organs have failed, probably as a result of a septic infection."

"Can we go in there? He shouldn't be alone." Izzie says, her voice shaking.

"We're going to move him up to the ICU pretty soon, you can sit with him once he's settled in up there." Bailey tells them, the tone of her voice leaving no room for argument.

Still not hearing what is desperate to, Meredith asks. "Is he gonna pull through?"

Bailey pauses a moment before answering. "You all know the medicine involved here, or at least you better, or I haven't taught you very well. He's extremely critical, the odds are against him... We're doing everything we can."

They all know exactly what this means, they've said it to unfortunate family members many times before; it'll practically be a miracle if he recovers.

* * *

Two hours later, Meredith enters Alex's ICU room. George and Izzie are waiting outside, allowing her to see him first. Despite having seen many people here before, it is a different matter all together when she knows the person lying there, looking so small in the bed, so weak, the bed almost completely surrounded by machines. After taking a minute to work through her feelings, Meredith moves over to the bed, and sits down in a chair left there by a nurse.

Even though she knows that Alex probably can't hear her, Meredith quietly speaks to him, her voice is almost a whisper. "I'm here Alex, I'm so sorry, please forgive me."

* * *

**TBC...**

**Thanks for reading! ****Hope that was worth the wait, sorry it's so short. **

**Please take a minute to review!**


	6. Chapter 6

****

Disclaimer: I don't own Grey's Anatomy, or the characters. In case it wasn't really obvious.

**AN: I have no medical knowledge, just way too much time to search the internet.**

**Thank you so much for all your wonderful reviews, I truly value each and ever one, so please keep them coming. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Late that evening, Alex is still unconscious, connected to numerous machines. Meredith is sitting beside his bed, guilt practically pouring off of her, and tears running down her face.

Bailey walks into the room to check on Alex, and after doing so she quickly turns her attention to Meredith, who until then hadn't noticed her presence. "Grey? How're you doing?"

Meredith jumps slightly, surprised. "What?"

Bailey kneels down beside her. "Are you alright?"

The bitterness and guilt are clear in her voice as she answers. "I'm not the one lying in hospital bed because their 'friend' was tired!" Meredith bursts into sobs for the hundredth time today.

Letting go of her stoic mask, Bailey moves closer, and awkwardly at first, pulls Meredith into a comforting embrace. "It's not your fault, this is a known complication of the treatment, even if you checked on him every minute he still could have gotten an infection…." She whispers gently, on a constant loop.

It is over an hour later when Meredith finally calms down, she tiredly pulls away from Bailey. "…Sorry, I just…" Meredith trails off, unsure of what she is actually trying to say.

Bailey knows exactly what is going on, and she comfortingly says. "You're overwhelmed, Grey, I'd be more worried if you weren't."

* * *

The next morning, Dr Payton arrives at the hospital after having heard that Alex had been admitted, when he enters the foyer, he is promptly greeted by Dr Webber. "Dr Payton, good to see you again."

As they shake hands, Sam replies. "Yeah, you too Dr Webber, just wish it was under better circumstances …How is Alex?"

Richard looks around, and upon seeing that everyone nearby is clearly eavesdropping, he says. "How about we talk in my office?"

Understanding Richard's desire to give Alex privacy, Sam nods. "Okay, lead the way." Without further pause, they both walk upstairs to Richard's office.

* * *

Once they are both seated, Sam reiterates his previous question. "So, how is Alex? What happened?"

Richard pours them both a glass of water, and takes a sip from his before answering. "He was brought in by ambulance yesterday morning, in multiple organ failure as a result of a severe septic infection."

"What treatment is he on? I'll need to speak to whoever is overseeing his care."

"Our chief resident, Miranda Bailey has insisted on treating him. When you go see Alex, chances are she'll be there, and she can tell you a lot more than me."

"Okay then…" Sam says as he pushes his chair back, and stands up. "Can you point me towards his room?"

Richard stands too. "He's in the ICU, I'll show you up there."

* * *

Several minutes later, Richard and Sam reach the ICU, and sure enough Bailey is sitting at the nurses' station, obviously ready to jump up, and attend to Alex at any second.

They walk over to her, and Richard says. "Bailey."

Bailey looks up, and upon noticing Sam, she says. "Dr Webber …who's-"

Richard interrupts her. "This is Sam Payton, Alex's oncologist from Mercy West."

Sam extends his hand, and Bailey shakes it. "Grey says you're good." She says simply.

Sam accepts that that is probably as close to kind words as Bailey gets. "They've said the same about you."

Dr Webber interrupts their awkward greetings. "Dr Bailey, I have to get back to my office, can you please fill Dr Payton in on Karev's condition?"

"Yes sir." Bailey replies quickly.

* * *

Once Richard leaves, Bailey leads Sam into a conference room, and they both sit down at the table. Bailey has Alex's chart in her hands. "So, first off. Are you going to be taking over his case, or what?"

Sam thinks for a moment. "If you are agreeable, I'd prefer to work alongside you."

"Okay, good. Now, how about I just give you a summary, then you read through his notes? I have to be in surgery in twenty minutes." Bailey hands Sam the chart, which he accepts. She then continues talking. "He's in multiple organ failure as a result of a severe septic infection. We're treating him with targeted antibiotics for the infection, he's on a vent, and dialysis, and we've put in a NG tube for liquid feeding. He's comatose, but he's continuing to improve steadily, and he should regain consciousness within the week."

"Sounds like you've got everything under control. Has his chemo been stopped?"

"Yes, is that-"

"Good." Sam interrupts. "We'll restart it once he's gotten through this."

"Okay." Bailey replies, she then looks up at the clock. "I've got to go, if you have any questions just have the nurses page me."

"Will do."

Without further conversation, Bailey stands up, and leaves the room. Sam quickly follows suit, but upon leaving the room, he goes over to the nurses' station. "Excuse me. Could you show me where Alex Karev is?" He asks a nurse, who is sitting there doing paperwork.

She looks up, and quickly points to a bed in the far corner of the room, away from the hustle and bustle.

"Thanks." Sam says gratefully. He then quickly strides over to the bed, and begins to take vitals, and make notes.

* * *

Within a minute of him being there, Meredith rushes over. "Sam? What are you doing here?? Has something happened? Is Alex alright?!" She is instantly on the verge of panic, obviously exhausted, and emotionally drained.

Sam turns around, and gently places a hand on Meredith's shoulder to calm her. "Alex is stable …Drs Webber and Bailey asked me to come, and manage his care." Sam motions to two chairs left up against the wall. "Sit." She obliges quickly, and he does the same. "How're you going?"

Relaxing, Meredith says honestly. "Tired… it's been a long couple of days."

"Anything I can do?" Sam asks kindly, spending months with each of his patients he tends to become close to them and their families.

Meredith looks over to Alex's prone body, still half buried by tubes, wires, and machines. "…Get Alex through his." Is her simple answer.

* * *

**TBC...**

**Thanks for reading! ****Hope that was worth the wait, sorry it's so short. Better stuff to come, I promise. **

**Please take a minute to review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own Grey's Anatomy, or the characters. In case it wasn't really obvious.**

**AN: I have no medical knowledge, just way too much time to search the internet.**

**Thank you so much for all your wonderful reviews, I truly value each and every one, so please keep them coming. **

**Enjoy!**

**And thanks to Black Panther 137 for giving me the idea to have some of Alex's perspective.**

**

* * *

**Previously: Meredith looks over to Alex's prone body, still half buried by tubes, wires, and machines. "…Get Alex through this." Is her simple answer.

* * *

Upon hearing Meredith's broken, weary reply, Sam moves closer to her. "We're doing everything we can, and barring any complications, Alex has a decent chance of recovering from this setback..." Sam continues, but Meredith doesn't really hear it.

Meredith just keeps looking at Alex, watching as his chest is forced by the ventilator to rise and fall, wishing that she had just taken a minute to check on him, as she listens to Sam's constant reassuring words.

Eventually, Meredith whispers. "Why?"

Not fully hearing her, Sam asks gently. "Sorry, what did you say?"

"Why did this happen?" Meredith says again, in a stronger voice this time.

"..." Sam pauses before replying. "Meredith, you know that there was always a risk of this."

Meredith lets out a shaky breath. "I know that Sam, but… I should have checked on him, this never would have gotten to this point." She tells him honestly, still clearly blaming herself.

Sam looks at her, slightly confused. "What are you talking about Meredith?"

Sighing, Meredith replies. "I found him in the morning."

"And?" Sam prompts, not sure where this is going.

"And the night before I got home really late, and I just went to bed and crashed, if I had've just checked on him… maybe…"

* * *

Meanwhile, Alex is standing in the corner of his ICU room, watching as Meredith cries over him, as she piles unwarranted blame on herself, as she falls apart because of him.

He sees Meredith rush into the room, he can hear the panic clearly in her voice, along with absolute fatigue. "Sam? What are you doing here?? Has something happened? Is Alex alright?!"

Alex watches as Sam turns around to face Meredith, and he gently places a calming hand on Meredith's shoulder. "Alex is stable …Drs Webber and Bailey asked me to come, and manage his care." He watches as Sam motions to two chairs left up against the wall, and instructs Meredith. "Sit." She obliges quickly, and Sam does the same. "How're you going?"

Meredith relaxes as she replies, in a voice Alex knows to be completely honest. "Tired… it's been a long couple of days."

"Anything I can do?" Sam then asks with kindness and sympathy in his voice.

Alex watches as Meredith turns her head, to look at his lifeless body, almost completely covered by tubes, wires, and machines. "…Get Alex throught this."

Hearing her heartbroken request, Alex moves closer to Meredith, and whispers to her. "I'm trying to wake up Mere, trying to fight this. And no matter what, I'm going to find a way back."

As it has many times before, his words go unheard.

* * *

Back in the real world, Sam pulls Meredith into a comforting hug. "This isn't your fault Meredith, you had no reason what so ever to think something was wrong, this isn't your fault."

* * *

Early in the morning, six days later. Meredith is back at work, not by choice, she stops in at Alex's ICU room before her shift begins, and sits down beside the bed, taking Alex's cold, limp hand in her own. "Hey Alex, it's Mere. It's time to wake up Alex." She says lightly, as though trying to wake a child for school.

She then changes her tone to one that is almost begging, pleading. "Come on Alex, wake up... please, it's been a WEEK, Alex. You have to wake up! Please." As she finishes speaking Meredith breaks down, and cries desperately, never taking her eyes away from Alex's body.

* * *

Several minutes later, Meredith gets to rounds, late. Her interns are all standing around, waiting for her. "Sorry." She calls out as she hurries over, wiping the last of the tears from her eyes.

At that moment, Christina and her huddle of interns emerge from a nearby room. She calls out. "Hey Mere."

Meredith silently curses that her friend will see her tear stained face, then she turns around, and greets Christina. "Hey."

Sure enough, Christina sees her friend's distress. She turns to look at both groups of interns. "Go away." She orders them simply, leaving no room for argument.

Once all the interns have scampered away, Christina knowingly questions. "How's Karev today? Any change?"

Meredith does a double take before answering. "No change. His oncologist is up there now."

They continue to talk for several minutes before reluctantly calling their interns back over, and resuming rounds.

* * *

It is another five anxious, worrying days before Meredith is sitting at Alex's beside when she notices his fingers curl around her hand. She moves closer to the bed, and leans over him. At the same time, she's preparing herself for another disappointment. "Alex?"

Alex's hand goes lax, and Meredith falls back into her seat, fighting back tears at this latest disappointment.

* * *

Several minutes later, Meredith is sobbing hard now, and doesn't notice when Alex's eyelids flutter, and then open completely.

She doesn't look up until he gains enough strength to grab at the ventilator tube a moment later. She looks at his eyes, they are wide with panic and confusion. "Alex, oh my god, you're awake!" Meredith exclaims, before realising that Alex is in danger of hurting himself. "Calm down, you're alright, just calm down."

Alex settles slightly, but is still clearly uneasy, and unsure about the intrusion in his throat. He points weakly at the tube as he looks at Meredith questioningly.

Meredith presses the call button as she tells him. "You're on a vent… there was a complication with the treatment, but you're going to be alright." Her relief is obvious as she adds. "Now you're awake, everything will be alright."

* * *

**TBC...**

**Thanks for reading! ****Hope that was worth the wait. Thought it was about time Alex started getting better, even I can only put someone through so much before I have to turn it around. Hope you liked it. **

**Please take a minute to review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own Grey's Anatomy, or the characters. In case it wasn't really obvious.**

**AN: I have no medical knowledge, just way too much time to search the internet.**

**Thank you so much for all your wonderful reviews, I truly value each and every one, so please keep them coming. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Bailey and several nurses come running into the room within seconds. Bailey quickly assesses the situation as she moves over to the bed, she leans over Alex. "Karev, how're you doing?"

Using almost all his strength, Alex shrugs. He then points weakly at the breathing tube.

Bailey looks to Meredith, who is standing by the ventilator. "What setting is the vent on?"

Meredith looks at the machine, and then answers. "Sixty percent O2, sats are holding steady at ninety-eight percent. Are you going to extubate?"

Bailey thinks for a moment, then replies. "Yes." She then turns to a nurse. "Set up for extubation." Then more quietly, she adds. "Be ready to reintubate if we need to."

Again, Bailey positions herself, so that Alex can see her. "We're going to take the tube out now."

Meredith then disconnects the ventilator from the breathing tube, and moves it away.

Bailey wraps her fingers around the tube as she instructs Alex. "Okay, take a deep breath in, and then on my count of three, blow out."

Alex follows her direction, and breathes in as deeply as he can.

"One... Two... Three." Bailey counts, and when she reaches three, she pulls the tube out.

Alex starts coughing violently, and Meredith quickly puts her arm behind him, and helps him sit up, whilst one of the nurses straps an oxygen mask over his face. "You're alright, Alex. Just breathe."

Eventually his breathing stabilizes, and one of the nurses gives Alex a few ice chips, to soothe his irritated throat.

Then, as Meredith helps him lie back down, Alex asks in a hoarse whisper. "What 'penned?"

Meredith pauses a moment before answering. "You went into septic shock, it was pretty touch and go for a while, Alex."

Now fighting to stay awake, Alex asks. "Why?"

Seeing his exhaustion as a way out of telling him the story, Meredith says. "You should rest, I'll explain everything to you when you wake up again, okay?"

Alex nods weakly before allowing himself to drift off to sleep.

Once he's completely asleep, Bailey looks at Meredith. "You are going to have to tell him eventually, Grey."

Looking chastised, Meredith replies. "I know, and I will ...when he's ready to hear it."

* * *

It is several hours before Alex wakes up again, and when he does Bailey is sitting with him. Meredith had been called to assist in surgery, much to her relief secretly. After lying awake for a moment, unnoticed by Bailey, Alex clears his throat.

Bailey looks up, and she actually looks slightly surprised. "Karev."

Alex raises the bed head, until he is almost sitting upright. "Dr Bailey. Where's Mere?" His voice is still very hoarse.

"Grey was called in to assist Hahn in surgery, she'll be back when she's done." Bailey tells him quickly, she then concernedly asks. "How're you feeling? Do you need anything?"

"I feel like I got run over by a truck, twice." Alex says, laughing dryly at his own comment. "What happened to me?"

After hesitating slightly, Bailey tells him. "Like Grey told you earlier, you suffered septic shock. The blood workup showed that it probably started as a cold."

Alex then looks around the room at the variety of machines, IVs, and monitors. "Bad?"

"Very, within minutes of being brought in, you went into arrest, we nearly couldn't get you back." Bailey says, her voice breaking slightly, remembering that day. "You've been here, in the ICU, on life support for twelve days."

Alex's jaw drops, and he stammers. "What?"

"You gave us all a scare." Bailey admits.

After taking a few seconds to absorb this information, Alex asks. "How did it get so far? With Meredith doing her dark and twisty version of a mother hen routine, I can't believe I even caught a cold."

Just as Bailey is about to tell him, she hears a knock on the door frame. She turns around in her seat. "Grey. Just in time."

Meredith just looks at her questioningly.

Bailey elaborates. "Karev wants to know how he ended up here, and I know how badly you wanted to be the one to tell him." She says, knowing full well that Meredith had been purposefully absent just so she didn't have to explain this to him.

Alex looks between the two of them, confused. "What's going on here? Mere, what don't you want to say?"

For a moment, Meredith looks tempted to turn tail and run, but she then says, in a very small voice. "I messed up."

Neither of them even hear her.

Feeling the barely hidden pain and guilt bubbling back to the surface, Meredith yells. "I screwed up, okay?! I screwed up, and you almost died!"

Alex looks at her, too shocked to speak. It is several minutes later, when he whispers. "What?"

Meredith stares at her feet as she replies. "It was late at night, I'd just finished up a sixteen hour long surgery, I came home, and went straight to bed." Here comes self hating Meredith again. "If I had've just checked on you, maybe..."

Alex nods in understanding, now this makes sense. "Mere." He says, motioning for her to sit on the edge of the bed, which she does. "You aren't my keeper. You are human, you were exhausted. Since I got sick, you've been running yourself into the ground. Don't beat yourself up about this, Mere."

They continue to talk for another hour before Alex gets tired and falls back asleep.

* * *

Late that afternoon, Sam arrives in Alex's room, where Alex and Meredith are sitting in silence. "Hey."

They both look up, and Meredith greets him. "Hey Sam. What're you doing here?"

"I heard that our patient was awake." Sam says simply, he then looks at Alex. "Good to have you back with us, we were a bit worried there."

"So everyone keeps saying." Alex states, obviously sick of hearing how he almost died, for the thousandth time today.

Sam then gets down to business. "Now, Alex. For obvious reasons we've withheld the chemo since your admission, but we really will need to restart it as soon as your blood work shows that it's safe, okay?"

"Do I have a choice?" Alex asks jokingly.

Sam smiles weakly, and says. "Not really. I have to get back to Mercy West, I'll come and see you again before you're discharged." He then stands up, and walks out of the room, and they watch as he walks down the corridor to the elevators.

It is another week before Alex is well enough to be released. Meredith, much to Alex's annoyance, insists he uses a wheelchair to go out to the car, and in that moment he gets the distinct feeling he won't be allowed to so much as lift a finger for a long time.

* * *

**TBC...**

**Thanks for reading! ****Hope you liked it. **

**I think the next chapter will probably be the last. I've had a great time writing this fic, but I am planning to focus more on Supernatural fics, at least for a while.**

**Please take a minute to review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I don't own Grey's Anatomy, or the characters. In case it wasn't really obvious.**

**AN: I have no medical knowledge, just way too much time to search the internet.**

**Thank you so much for all your wonderful reviews, I truly value each and every one, so please keep them coming. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

A week after being released from hospital, Alex resumes chemotherapy. And for the following two months until he finishes treatment, as predicted Meredith waits on him hand and foot. She takes leave from work and watches over him as much as she humanly can, much to Alex's strongly expressed irritation, but he is secretly glad she is there.

* * *

On the day after finishing his last round of chemotherapy, Meredith takes Alex to an appointment with Dr Payton.

When they go into the reception area, Dr Payton's receptionist, now familiar with them, promptly tells them. "Sorry guys, Dr Payton's been called away on an emergency. He should be back soon. If you'd like, take a seat."

They do so, and then Meredith calls out. "Thanks Tracy." She then glances to Alex. He has changed so much since their first visit to this office. Long gone is the well-built, strong, Alex who treated everyone else like they were below him, and would do whatever it took to get what he wanted. Now, he's stick thin, and rarely speaks unless spoken to, and has long ago forgotten that he thought himself to be god's gift to women. Meredith says to Alex. "Things have changed, haven't they? I mean, neither of us working, let alone building high-powered surgical careers."

In his now, usual fashion, Alex gives a monosylabic reply. "Yeah."

Used to this, Meredith continues. "Who would have thought, this time last year that we'd be sitting in an oncologist's waiting room, waiting to hear if you've beaten ALL?"

Alex laughs weakly. "Not me."

Before Meredith can say any more, Dr Payton walks into the room, and comes straight over to them. "Alex, Meredith. Good to see you again. Let's go straight into my office." His tone betrays that he has got good news, hopefully for them.

* * *

A couple of minutes later, they are seated around Sam's desk, and Sam has the all important test results sitting in front of him.

Unable to wait any more, Meredith asks. "So, what's the verdict Sam? Is he in the clear?"

The anxiety is practically pouring off Alex and Meredith as Sam tells them. "Alex..." He pauses, half for effect, half to drive them mad. "You have ...no detectable cancer. You've beaten it, congratulations."

They both sit there in shock, until Alex asks. "You sure?"

Sam smiles broadly at them, and hands over the file. "Definitely, see for yourself."

Alex hesitantly accepts the file, and begin to read it with Meredith looking over his shoulder.

* * *

Several minutes later, Alex closes the file, a look of disbelief plastered on his face. "It's over. I did it." He whispers, barely audible.

"As you know, you'll need to come see me at regular intervals for the next couple of years, and then annually, but it looks really good." Sam tells them, this is the part of the job he loves.

Alex and Meredith just nod, neither trusting their voices right now.

Sam then stands up, and moves towards the door. "I won't hold you up any longer. I'm sure you have a lot of celebrating to do."

Alex laughs, and Meredith tries to hide a smile. They then stand up, and follow Sam into the reception area, where Alex promptly shakes Sam's hand, and gratefully says. "Thanks man. I... I don't think I'll ever be able to thank you enough, I was sure I was going to die." He figures out that he is rambling, and quickly sumarizes. "Just, thanks."

Sam returns the handshake, and replies. "No problem, Alex. See you in a month for a check up, okay?"

"Sure." Alex says, before walking over to Meredith, who is at the reception desk, paying.

**

* * *

**

Epilogue

It is two months before Alex is strong enough to be cleared to return to work. He is still a lot thinner than he used to be, and his hair is only just starting to regrow, but medically he is ready.

Within minutes of starting his first day back, Alex's pager goes off 'OR 2, scrub in'. And in such a short, simple message, Alex knows he's back where he belongs.

**

* * *

**

****

**Thanks for reading! So, here we are at the end of this fic, I hope you've enjoying reading it, as much as I have writing it.**

**Please take a minute to leave one last review!**


End file.
